Today was awesome. We took homeschooling outside for a history and geology lesson coupled with some physical education and lots of fun.
The boys and I headed to the Silver Queen Mica Mine today. We learned all about the small scale apatite, mica and feldspar mining operation there in the early 1900s. There were excellent educational placards at each point of interest that explained the who, what, how and why of the mine. There was lots to see and it was so interesting! Both the boys and I learned a ton. Apparently, the open pit portion of the mine is accessible by guided tour during the summer (presumably post-Covid) and Liam begged to come back.
The second part of our adventure was the exercise portion where we hiked three loops near the mine.
We stumbled upon an offshoot mid way through the hike to an old homestead. Seamus begged to check it out and I am so glad we did. It was amazing! The homestead, though now abandoned, was in good shape and the boys were able to go inside both the shed and the main house which contained educational information about the homestead.
In our journey we crossed a cool bridge over a waterfall and found ruins of the Burgess Mill. The boys were thrilled with these surprise treasures.
On the hike back we came across four deer who stood totally still right next to us until we passed. It was incredible to see them at such close range.
The only downsides were the snakes we ran into while hiking. The black snake we saw was huge! I am not a fan of these slithery creatures. I also did not enjoy the tick I felt crawling up my neck on the drive home. I squished it before it could bite me but yuck!
We also managed to pick up our bee supplies in Carleton Place on the way out to the mine and our seed potatoes in Burritts Rapids on the way home. It was an A+ of a day. I look forward to more good days like this one.
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